Reluctant Hero
by StormiLove
Summary: Eren and Levi return from a dangerous mission. With a few soldiers dead, Eren can't help but feel guilty for their deaths. Can he come to realize that the deaths weren't his fault? Will he ever truly believe that their deaths couldn't be helped?


Eren stumbled into the squads' headquarters, his clothes, along with his body, soaked in blood- both his squads' and his own. The mission had gone terribly wrong- most of their squad was lost and what remained of the group returned empty-handed.

Tears rolled down his cheeks as Eren began to remove his blood soaked clothes, making his way to the showers. All he knew for certian at the moment was that he needed to get the blood off of him.

He quickly removed the last of his clothes, turning the shower on as hot as it could get, steam rolling off the cool shower room tiles. He stepped under the falling water, watching as the dried blood trickled onto the floor, down the drain…

Human blood. The blood of the soldiers he grew to understand and care about. At that thought he collapsed to his knees, holding his head in his hands.

"I could have saved them... if only I had acted sooner!" He managed to cry out, his voice weak.

The hot water stung his back- the heat making his exposed skin red. He didn't care- after all, he believed he deserved it.

After what seemed like a long time, he slowly stood back up, washing the rest of the blood from his skin. He slowly turned off the water, taking a step forward.

The room began to swim, his vision wavering. He put a hand on the wall, steadying himself. He slowly laid on the floor, squeezing his eyes shut.  
The water must have been too hot. His body temperature was incredibly high, and the cool tiles felt good on his skin.

Just as he began to fade into unconsciousness, he hear a familiar voice.

"Oi- Jaeger- where are you?" The quiet footsteps got closer. Slowly slipping into an exhausted sleep, he recognized the voice.

"Heichou..."

Levi quickly followed Eren's voice- is sounded frail, weak. The boy soon appeared in sight, passed out on the floor.

"Damn- brat." He growled, kneeling beside him, feeling his forehead. It was really hot in this room.

With a swift movement, the man picked the boy up, heading towards the medic room. Everyone was sleeping, so he knew no one would see the boy naked. It didn't really matter to him or not, but he figured Eren would appreciate it later.

He carefully laid him on one of the cots, draping a sheet over him. He retrieved a piece of cloth and soaked it in cool water, wringing it out, before placing it on Erens' forehead.

"Really- you should stop worrying me like this, you little shit." He muttered toward the sleeping boy before pulling a chair up to the cot, touching the boys' face, quietly waiting for him to wake up.

Eren groggily opened his eyes, his sea green hues scanning the room. When'd he get in here? He didn't remember walking... The last think he could remember was collapsing after the shower.

Oh- that's right. The footsteps... Levi. _'I had been naked, r-right?'_ He quickly shook his head. _'What the hell?'_ That didn't matter- it's not like Levi hadn't seen him naked before.

He moved the sheets off his body, looking down to find he was wearing clothes. Levi must have put them on while he slept. _'Tch- how long have I been out?'_ He slowly stood up, his head spinning for a moment.

"Don't hurt yourself, brat." Levi's voice came from the other side of the room. "You've been out for a few days. You must have been exhausted. Why don't you take care of yourself you shit?" He muttered, a somewhat relieved tone in his harsh words.

Eren nodded a bit. He couldn't help but smile slightly. "Yeah- I'm sorry. I hadn't been able to sleep very well with the titans advancing and all."

Then it hit him- limbs being chewed off- the sounds of his comrades' screams as a huge aberrant bowled into them. He felt a warm wetness on his cheek.

"…It's over, Eren. Part of the past. It couldn't be helped." Levi grumbled, looking back out of the window.

"But..." He wiped his face with a sleeve, stepping towards his commander. "I could have saved them! If only I would have acted faster. They could be here right now!"

Hands slammed down on the desk- a stunning impact catching Eren on the cheek. Not hard enough to harm him, but enough to stun him slightly.

"Shut up you stupid brat. Don't say shitty things like that. If I knew you could have helped I would have told you. Have I ever lied to you?" The man growled into Erens' ear. "Honestly, you're such a pain…" He lifted a hand to his face, closing his eyes in thought.

After a few moments of silence, Eren nodded a bit.

"Thank you… I know you're right, but… I can't help but feeling guilty. They were protecting me, after all. I wish I could have done something to show my gratitude…"

Levi swallowed, letting a small amount of air escape his lips. "I'm sure they know. They weren't dumb asses like you, after all. It was painfully obvious that you cared for them- after all, you always insisted on doing their share chores…"

He walked over to Eren, silently stroking the cheek he had struck moments ago. A silent apology.

Eren looked down at the man, noticing dark circles under his eyes. "Ah- Captain! How long have you been awake? Don't tell me you stayed up waiting for me to wake up... you need rest."

He furrowed his brows, taking Levis' hand in his own. Levi allowed the boy to lead him to the sleeping quarters, his usual frown replaced with a rather neutral look- the closest thing possible to a smile. He was just glad the little shit was alright. After all, he wouldn't know what to do without him.

Without a word, Levi laid in the bed, pulling the covers up to his face, closing his eyes.

Eren smiled slightly, watching Levi. Taking a nervous breath, he leaned down, placing a soft kiss on the mans' forehead.

"Thank you, you damn brat. You're alright."


End file.
